dawave.com is Willy Cahill's Judo school that I mentioned earlier. Seems like a nice environment to learn in. I hear he also teaches at Stanford, I heard the classes there were good when I was a student at the university.

Injuries happen in all martial arts if you put any real effort into it; that is just part of the game.

I agree that BJJ is probably safer than Judo; though I suffered injuries in BJJ that I will be plagued with for a life time (crushed vertebra C6/C7 during a countered throw; crushed C5 during training from a neck crank). I took Judo only for 3 months (compared to BJJ for 5 years) and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was lucky to get into a school that taught ground work. I also agree that going from Judo to BJJ is easier as seen a few students do so.

What I disliked about Judo was that there was a requirement to compete. I watched some competitions and did not enjoy it as much as I enjoyed actually taking part in BJJ matches (gi and no gi). At least in BJJ it was optional and I liked this approach.

Both are great arts, it is just a matter of what you will enjoy.

_________________________"IF I COME ... I'M BRINGING THE PAIN WITH ME"

Thanks for the info Dereck. I have no problem with competing, it's just not my goal right now.

I'm aiming to just learn grappling well so that I'm not totally useless if it comes to the clinch or ground fighting. It's as simple as that. I started as a striker so it's only natural to move onto grappling to round out my experience.

This doesn't mean that I won't take my training seriously, but I prefer to use short term achievable goals to keep me interested while training. (I suppose belts are useful training tools in that sense)

Leo, these are two of my favourite clips on the philosophy of BJJ (it could be applied to any MA though). This guy (Keith Owen) comes from the Helio Gracie style of BJJ. Really entertaining and worth listening too. I bear this in mind and it really can help reduce injuries:

If you want and overall stand up and ground grappling game try to find a "Kosen Judo" school in your area. It's Judo with a very well develope "newaza" ground game like BJJ except better throws... Sorry for the simple basic explanation...

You aren't likely to find anyone teaching "Kosen Judo" outside of Japan, but it was a nice idea.

More likely is a Judo class that spends a good amount of time ne waza.

Or better yet, do Judo and BJJ! I know a lot of folks who cross-trained and had good success. I know someone who started training Judo and BJJ at the same time. They trained 4/5 times a week. Within 3 years she'd her black belt in Judo, and after 4 years she had her purple belt in BJJ. She'd also won a lot of tourneys in both disciplines, including one of the largest BJJ tourneys in the world. BJJ basically grew out of Judo, so there is a lot of cross over and similar techniques.

I know Leo has decided to do Judo (at the time of writing) but I would like to add something else that popped in to my head the other day.

I think overall Judo is a better cardio workout. My reasons (which are based only on my own observation) is that in Judo randori, you have to be explosive and work hard for the entire time. In BJJ (particularly with a Gi), you can stall a lot easier. The better you get at BJJ, the less energy you use too.

Someone on another forum once asked how many calories would a person burn in an hour of BJJ. One poster summed it up nicely:

"When you are a white belt, you'll burn about 800 calories in an hour. When you are a purple belt, you'll burn about 300 calories in an hour!".

These of course aren't accurate figures, but it was a fair point. BJJ at a higher level doesn't require the same amount of constant, explosive movement Judo does. Yes there can be explosive BJJ matches and I'm not suggesting BJJ isn't a tough workout or you don't sweat, it's just BJJ at more advanced levels is more about conserving energy . This might make you a more effective fighter, but it might also mean you don't tax your body the way a Judo workout will. Even at an advance level Judo players still have to constantly work hard, and there is less scope for stalling.